"It's not about last year, it's about this year," Brown said at
Tokyo Dome on Sunday before his team lost 6-3 to the Yomiuri Giants.

Some of Hiroshima's troubles a year ago stemmed from the inability
to adapt to unfamiliar pitchers. Tomonori Maeda, who reached the 2,000
hit mark during the summer, hit .153 off PL pitching.

"He's been playing forever and he's used to all the pitchers in this
league. He knows how everyone pitches to him," Brown said of his
36-year-outfielder. "Against unfamiliar guys, he didn't know what to
expect."

Brown believes the key is sticking with what works rather than trying to predict how the other guy will try to stick it to you.

He said the thought process should be: "OK, he's a left-hander or he's a right-hander, now go get him.

"You have to simplify the game, and last year I think we made it way too complicated.

"We have to stay with our strengths. Just because the teams are different, we can't go and change the way we play."

While the Carp enter interleague play in fifth place, the current
Central and Pacific League leaders will also to drastically improve
their interleague form if they are to finish first at season's end.

The CL-leading Hanshin Tigers had Japan's third worst interleague
record a year ago (9-14-1), while the Saitama Seibu Lions (9-15) were
the worst in the PL.

The Lions, who take a five-game lead over the Hokkaido Nippon Ham
Fighters into interleague, will host the Tokyo Yakult Swallows starting
Wednesday.

The Fighters, who won their second straight PL pennant last autumn
after breaking Chiba Lotte's two-year lock on interleague titles, will
be at Sapporo Dome tonight against the last-place Yokohama BayStars.

The fourth-place Yomiuri Giants, whose 15-9 record against PL clubs
helped lift them to their first league title since 2002, will be in
Chiba tonight to take on the Marines. Both clubs are badly in need of a
fresh start after losing two out of three at home over the weekend to
teams lower down in the standings.

Alex Ramirez, whose three-run homer helped ice Hiroshima on Sunday
night, said he enjoyed interleague but would prefer to miss a few of
the PL's pitching stars.